We Finally Know John Lennon's Devastating Final Words

More than four decades after John Lennon was murdered — and nearly six decades after Lennon predicted his death — fans of The Beatles finally know his final words. Lennon, who was one-fourth of The Fab Four prior to his departure in 1969, was murdered in 1980. Lennon's murderer was an unwell fan named Mark David Chapman, who'd requested an autograph from Lennon the very same day. Later that day Chapman followed Lennon to his New York apartment and shot him at point blank range. Unfortunately, Lennon succumbed to his gunshot wounds before he made it to the hospital.

In 2020, Chapman revealed during a parole trial that jealousy motivated his decision to kill Lennon. "At the time, my thinking was he has all of this money, lives in this beautiful apartment, and he is into music representing a more cautious lifestyle, a more giving lifestyle," Chapman said to a parole board (via ABC News). "It made me angry and jealous compared to the way I was living at the time. There was jealousy in there." Chapman also apologized to Lennon's wife, Yoko Ono. Ultimately, Chapman succeeded in his cruel plan of murdering Lennon, but the musician didn't die immediately. Thanks to "John Lennon: Murder Without a Trial," an Apple TV+ documentary chronicling Lennon's murder, we now know the beloved singer's reported last words before he died.

According to Jay Hastings, who appears in "John Lennon: Murder Without A Trial," and worked in the apartment building where Lennon lived, Lennon's last moments were wrapped in absolute chaos and hysteria. Hastings revealed that Lennon ran past him after Chapman shot him. "He goes, 'I'm shot,'" said Hastings (via the Independent). "He had blood coming out of his mouth. He just collapsed on the floor." Hastings also rolled Lennon onto his back and removed his glasses. "And Yoko was screaming, 'Get an ambulance, get an ambulance, get an ambulance,'" he added.

What's even more unsettling were Chapman's words shortly before the shooting. According to Mark Snyder, the cab driver who unknowingly drove Lennon's killer around the day of the murder, Chapman lied about being affiliated with The Beatles. "The first thing he said to me was, 'I'm a producer for The Rolling Stones," said Snyder (via Billboard). "I just got back from a recording session with The Beatles. They all got back together again." Chapman also left Snyder with an eerie send-off upon exiting the cab. "He said, 'My name is Mark David Chapman,'" revealed Snyder. "'You'll remember my name one day.'"